theveganpea

This dish is inspired by Macaroni and Cheese…it only seems fair that vegans should get to enjoy this amazing dish too! It tastes so comforting and the rosemary and caraway work really well together. Additions to this recipe could include cauliflower and broccoli, both of which would need to be pre-boiled before the baking stage. Vegan Mac n’ Cheese doesn’t get much better and for once it does not contain nutritional yeast!

Preparation time: 1 hour (including cooking time)

Ingredients (Serves 2):

• 200g Gluten Free Pasta (preferably macaroni but penne works well too)
• 3 tbsp chopped parsley
• 160g diced Carrots
• 160g diced Swede
• 65g diced White Onion
• 60g diced Leeks
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 2 cups Water
• 2 1/2 tbsp Caraway seeds
• 3 Green Chillies
• 2 tsp Paprica
• 1/2 cup fresh Rosemary leaves
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp Pine Nuts

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius
2. Put pasta on to boil in pre-boiling water salted with 1 1/2 tbsp salt
3. Cook the pasta until al dente (approx. 8 minutes)
4. Place the chopped parsley, carrots, swede, onion, leeks and garlic cloves in a large saucepan with 2 cups of water and boil and cook down until the vegetables are soft (approx. 15 minutes)
5. Place the caraway, chillies and black pepper into a mixer and mix until finely crushed and chopped
6. Add the contents of the saucepan to the mixer and puree with the caraway mixture until smooth and creamy
7. Add the olive oil and mix for 1 minute
8. Add water to the mixer tbsp at  a time until the sauce is pourable but still thick
9. Add the rosemary, salt and paprika to the mixer and pulse until incorporated into the sauce
10. Taste the sauce for salt and adjust accordingly
11. Mix the sauce into the pasta and place into a baking dish
12. Sprinkle the pine nuts on top
13. Cook in the oven for approx. 20 minutes or until golden brown and crusty on top
14. Enjoy my Little Peas!